ICY DOCK MB994IPO-3SB All Metal 2x 2.5" SATA/SAS HDD/SSD + Slim Optical Drive Backplane in 5.25" bay

Pros: Great way to expand drive capacity!

SOLID construction (with one exception, noted below)

Cons: Even though it is an all-metal enclosure and is solid, I felt it was still a little pricey. Maybe this would be a better fit at $49.

QC or build quality issue, noted below.

Other Thoughts: I ordered this to use in my HP N54L Microserver. I had the optical drive and two 2.5" drives ready to go. After unpacking the bay I loaded my slim optical drive into the top and it slid easily in, stopping with ~1/2 inch of the drive sticking out. I assumed it would fit flush with the front of the door. When I closed and locked the door the drive fully inserted, so I figured all was well. After this I loaded my two 2.5" drives and they installed fine. I connected the two molex power ports to a SATA --> 2x Molex adapter, connected the optical drive to the SATA port on the motherboard, and the two hard drives to the HP P410 RAID card I had purchased. I fired the unit up and the two HDs spun up and were recognized. I tried ejecting the tray on the optical drive and nothing happened.

After quite a bit of trial and error I removed the bay from the microserver, uninstalled the drives, and took the bay apart. What I found made me gasp.

It seems that the 1/2 inch length of the drive sticking out I referred to earlier happened because the data and power connector inside the bay were not properly aligned. When I closed the door it forced the drive against the connectors, bending them back. I tried very delicately to re-bend them back into place, and the entire connector snapped off the back plane. I have RMA'd the unit and hope to get a replacement soon.

Pros: • Efficient use of space: fits two, hot-swappable 2.5in drives and a slim optical drive in a single 5.25in bay.
• Drive carriages are interchangeable with other Icy Dock products, and extras available on NewEgg--item #N82E16817994125.
• Once the bay is installed, everything--even the optical drive--can be changed from the front, without opening the computer case.
• You do NOT need an adaptor for installing a slim optical drive to your standard SATA ports with this bay--the bay is powered by Molex and attaches with standard SATA cables, so in effect, the bay is your adaptor.
• All metal construction: cool, sturdy, and looks nice.

Cons: Not many. Fan could be quieter, but it isn't exactly loud. Fans could always be quieter :)

Other Thoughts: For someone like me, who has a few RAID arrays, and wants occasional use of a CD/DVD burner, this product is fantastic. Instead of wasting a whole 5.25in bay on just an optical drive, I get the drive AND two swappable disk bays. I've also installed two of Icy Dock's matching 4x bays (item #N82E16817994095), which in total gives me ten 2.5in SATA/SAS bays plus an optical drive in just three 5.25in slots.

Some other reviewers have noted that they don't see HDD activity LEDs working. I can confirm that they are there, and they do work, under the correct circumstances. As Icy Dock says in their documentation, the amber activity lights depend upon the disk and controller in use for the right signaling. For example, SATA drives running in Windows don't seem to show any activity lights, but on my SAS controller in BSD, the amber lights start flashing.

Pros: Save space with two 2.5 inch drive bay and slim drive

Cons: so many dents on the front edge........not smooth on the edge....if you care of out looks shape you might need to care of this.....

Pros: Small compact device made of all meter parts.
Fan off and on switch. (although fan is quiet)
Fast easy installation.

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: Make sure you have some straight SATA cables for the install. I had to order some, delayed the installation.

Pros: OEM drive friendly, comes with all the screws for the drives and case (even the ridiculously small slim optical drive screws).

Nice soft green lights for the installed drives (always on).

SATA or SAS, The fan has an off switch. The cage itself is all metal, with a solid/heavy feel.

Have not noticed any slow down in speed from the drives at all.

Cons: The Newegg description (and Icy Docks site) says it has amber activity lights for the drives. This does not appear to be the case however as I have yet to see them with the SATA SSDs I am using.

Other Thoughts: Using the unit with a LITE-ON DS-8A8SH DVD Burner and two Samsung 830 256gig solid state drives in raid 0.

If you have a case that uses rails that attach to 5.25 drives for quick disconnect be careful to check that they can accommodate rounded head screws (th type this unit comes with). The screws this drive needs are very shallow as space inside the unit gets tight (you will want to use the ones that come with it). If your rail system requires flat head screws you may run into trouble with their length.

All in all a very good unit, would recommend to anyone.